Overview

In order to access a Lustre filesystem, it must be mounted by a machine running the Lustre client software. Lustre client software comprises a set of kernel modules which must be compatible with the running kernel, as well as userspace tools for interacting with the filesystem.

Starting with version 1.2 of Cloud Edition, a Lustre client setup tool is available to assist with software installation, optional IPSec configuration, and mounting the filesystem. This version of the product also includes DKMS-enabled Lustre client packages, 

Supported Clients

At this time, we recommend el6 or el7 for the client instance distribution. The client setup tool can configure Amazon Linux clients, but this distribution has not received any significant testing to verify Lustre functionality.

Client Deployment Scenarios

Quick Setup Deployment

In this scenario, each client instance runs the setup tool to install packages, build appropriate kernel modules, and automatically mount the filesystem. It is intended to be used for quick setup and testing, but may not be the best choice for long-term deployments.

Requirements

• A Cloud Edition Lustre filesystem must be running and accessible by the client instances
• Each client instance's distribution must be in the table of supported distributions
• Each client instance must have access to online software updates via yum, in order to install required packages (gcc, kernel-devel, etc.)
• Each client instance must have been launched with an IAM Role which includes the 

  AmazonDynamoDBReadOnlyAccess policy, or some equivalent level of read-only access to the FilesystemTable DynamoDB table created by the filesystem stack

Procedure

1. On each Lustre client instance, run the following command after sudo-ing to the root user: curl http://<mgs-ip>/install-client | bash

After some time, the output should indicate that the Lustre client software has been installed and configured, and the filesystem has been mounted. The filesystem entry has been added to /etc/fstab, and therefore it should automatically remount in the event of a reboot. If the kernel is updated, the Lustre client modules should be automatically rebuilt for the new kernel, if necessary.

Custom AMI Deployment

In this scenario, a single client instance (called "prime") is used to run through the initial setup process to build and install the Lustre client software. Afterward, a new AMI is created from the instance's filesystem which can then be used for all clients in order to avoid the build and install process on each client.

Requirements, Initial Setup

• A Cloud Edition Lustre filesystem must be running and accessible by the prime instance
• The prime instance's distribution must be in the table of supported distributions
• The prime instance must have access to online software updates via yum, in order to install required packages (gcc, kernel-devel, etc.)

Procedure, Initial Setup

The following commands should be run as the root user on the prime instance:

1. curl http://<mgs-ip>/client-setup-tool -o /usr/sbin/ce-client && chmod +x /usr/sbin/ce-client
2. ce-client package add-client-source --url http://<mgs-ip>/client-packages

3. ce-client package install ipsec (optional, only needed if the client will be used to access IPSec-protected filesystems)
4. ce-client package install lustre

Upon successful completion of the final step, use the AWS EC2 console or API to create a new AMI from the prime instance.

Requirements, Custom Clients

• A Cloud Edition Lustre filesystem must be running and accessible by the client instances
• Each client instance must have been launched with an IAM Role which includes the 

  AmazonDynamoDBReadOnlyAccess policy, or some equivalent level of read-only access to the FilesystemTable DynamoDB table created by the filesystem stack, OR

• Alternatively, each client instance must have access to a configuration file created by running the following command on a Lustre server instance (e.g. the MGS): ce-client config generate -o <filename>

Procedure, Custom Clients

If using a generated configuration file, then the procedure is as follows:

1. ce-client auto setup --skip-packages --config <filename> (this file may be hosted locally to the client instance, in s3, or via http)

If the clients have access to the filesystem's DynamoDB table as described in the requirements, then the procedure is as follows:

1. ce-client auto setup --skip-packages